The former First Lady of the USA, Michelle Obama has just launched a new juice drink for children. It is called PLEZi. It is meant to be a healthier option for the unhealthy sugary drinks that many children in the UK consume daily. Is this new drink healthy? What do nutritionists feel about it?
Michelle Obama and her new juice drink for kids, PLEZi
The former First Lady of the USA, Michelle Obama is the co-founder and strategic partner of the company, PLEZi Nutrition. And this firm has recently launched a new juice drink for kids. This is PLEZi and this drink is reportedly a healthier option to the sugary drinks that kids consume every day. Survey data reveals that these sugary drinks in the daily diet of children in the USA is the no-1 source of added sugars in the daily foods of these children. Nearly two-thirds of the American kids have at least one sugary drink per day.
First Lady Michelle Obama in Let’s move initiative (Source: Let’s move)Michelle has been an advocate for children’s health since many years. Even when she was in the White House, she has initiated the Let’s Move campaign. And PLEZi claims of containing no added sugar. Children 6 years and above can consume it. It has 75% less sugar compared to the current 100% fruit juices on sale in the USA. Its taste will therefore be less sweet.
Every 8 ounce serving has only 35 calories. It contains one-fourth content of juice and the rest is water. The website of the company states that water and milk are best for kids. But kids will rarely stick to only these two drinks in their diet.
Nutritional facts
The juice has 2 grams of soluble vegetable fiber in it. This is good for the bowels, control of blood sugar and heart health. The drink also contains 100% of the daily needs of vitamin C for children. This is good but may not be necessary since most kids in the UK get their daily vitamin C requirements in foods easily.
The drink also has magnesium in it. But the most glaring point in this drink is the low sugar content. It has just 6 grams of sugar per 8 ounce. This is low compared to the other drinks that have around 20 grams or more of sugar in 8 ounce. This new juice can help reduce cavities, obesity, metabolic diseases and diabetes in children.
PLEZi (Source: Social Nature)The drink has non-nutritive natural sweeteners in it, stevia and monk fruit. Dietitian, Sarah Pflugradt states:
“When choosing to let your kids consume stevia or monk fruit, it’s really a personal decision, as even the research on adults is conflicting.”
The nutritional verdict on the drink
This drink might be able to get kids to reduce their daily intake of sweetened beverages. But kids, in general, consume less fruits and this drink will not be able to convince them to have more fresh produce daily.
Fruit juices are OK for children. But they should have it in moderation of 4-6 ounces in 1-6 year-old kids and less than 8 ounces in children 6-17 years old.
Read here: Fruit juices: are they really healthy? An analysis
The new Juice drink, PLEZi (Source: Good Morning America)This drink might be a healthier alternative for children. It is a good option for children with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Sarah explains:
“It’s important to teach younger children how to balance, meaning they should choose water for most of the day, but it’s OK to have a drink like this once per day as well.”